Mary

 I was pleased when I saw that Netflix was offering a new movie about Mary for the Christmas season.  Her story is one of the most beautiful, best known, and most celebrated in all of history. 

 Both Luke (chapters 1-2) and Matthew (chapters 1-2) record the extraordinary events surrounding the birth of Jesus.  Mary is the most likely source for this information.  Most scholars are agreed that Mary was a young woman when she gave birth to Jesus, perhaps no more than a teenager.  All evidence indicates that she lived a number of years after Jesus’ death. 

 Matthew, as one of the 12, would have been well acquainted with Mary. Luke tells us that he conducted careful research and personal interviews with eyewitnesses. (Luke 1:1-4).  Mary would have been an essential eyewitness. When we read Luke 2, the words reflect the personal touch and feel of one who was there, one who experienced what no one else has ever seen or felt:  the announcement by the angel Gabriel, the visit with her mother’s cousin, Elizabeth; the misunderstanding and confusion concerning her pregnancy; Joseph’s courageous decision to marry her;  the long journey to Bethlehem in obedience to Roman law; the birth in a stable followed by extraordinary visitors: shepherds from the nearby fields and astronomers from the East.  Afterward the couple present an offering in the temple, all they can afford, a simple pair of doves.  They are astounded by the prophecies of Simeon and Anna who recognize the child as the Messiah.  Joseph is warned in a dream to depart for Egypt before Herod unleashes his rage on the infants of Bethlehem in response to the Magi’s message.

 So, we sat down the other night, signed in, and watched Mary with anticipation.  But the writers of the Netflix version went beyond elaboration into the realm of fantasy.  They created an entire prequel regarding Mary’s parents including multiple appearances of the angel Gabriel and Lucifer.  They invented a story about Anna the prophetess and Mary’s childhood in the temple. Some elements of the movie left me shaking my head.  Mary and Joseph riding to Bethlehem in a horse-drawn wagon? Galloping across the desert on a stallion?  And Joseph, a common worker in a stone quarry fighting his way through a fiery battle against Roman soldiers?  What happened to the carpenter from Nazareth?

 I am afraid that our theatrical fantasies have caused us to lose touch with reality.  We have a tendency to confuse historically authenticated records with Marvel super-heroes and imaginary worlds. 

 I am all for using imagination to try to grasp the reality of the incarnation.  I thought The Chosen did a good job of helping us see the 12 disciples as real people living in an extraordinary moment.  I even attempted to do the same in my novel, We Beheld His Glory.  But our understanding of what occurred on the earth 2100 years ago must remain true to the documents produced by those who were there.

 This coming week we will remember that one life that changed the world.  We will celebrate with lights and singing and gift-giving.  The reality of God’s intervention into our world through His Son is the most important event in human history.  Jesus’ birth, His sinless life, sacrificial death and resurrection from the dead changed everything!